Prep Oubre expected to announce today

Cliff Alexander says he'll announce Nov. 20, then changes to Nov. 16

Kansas recruits Kelly Oubre, left, and King McClure watch from behind the bench during Late Night in the Phog, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 at Allen Fieldhouse.

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Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas recruits Kelly Oubre, left, and King McClure watch from behind the bench during Late Night in the Phog, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Blue-chip basketball shooting guard Kelly Oubre, a 6-foot-7 senior wing from Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., who has pared his list of prospective colleges to Kansas and Kentucky, is expected to announce his college choice this afternoon.

Jayhawkslant.com has reported the time as 3 p.m. It's possible the news will come via Twitter. Kelly has used Twitter as his means of communication before. He caused quite a stir on Twitter on Monday night, writing, “Big News Tomorrow!!”

Oubre, who is ranked No. 12 nationally by Rivals.com, said at USA Basketball’s developmental camp in Colorado Springs on Sunday how much he was impressed by his Thursday-Saturday visit to KU.

He said KU coach Bill Self explained that, if he chose KU, he’d be ticketed to take over for one-and-done sensation Andrew Wiggins on the wing next season.

He had a visit scheduled to Kentucky on Oct. 18, but several recruiting analysts reported this morning that Oubre had canceled his visit to Kentucky and would be announcing his decision sometime today.

Oubre told Eric Bossi of Rivals.com he learned a lot about KU by attending two practices last weekend.

“I got to see how they get after it, how hard coach (Bill) Self is right now,” Oubre said. “They are going to have a great team. I got to see the guys, the brotherhood they are forming right now. A lot of freshmen are starting to get used to their roles. It was a great experience for me. I enjoyed it a lot. They treated me well (on visit).

“Late Night in the Phog was great,” Oubre added. “When we walked in, they (fans) gave a standing ovation. There was a good vibe in there (Allen Fieldhouse). They love their team. They love their city. They love everything about Kansas. I just like the feeling when I was in there.”

Perhaps as a hint of where he’s leaning, Oubre has the words “9 and counting” under his name on his Twitter account. That could be referring to KU’s nine consecutive league titles.

Alexander reported on Twitter this morning that he would announce his college choice on Nov. 20 on ESPN. Later in the morning he switched the date, saying he would announce on his birthday, Nov. 16.

Curie coach Mike Oliver told ESPN.com he believed Rivals.com’s No. 4-rated player would release a top three list by Nov. 1.

“He’s gone to DePaul and Kansas, and he liked both of them guys,” Oliver said. “He’s got two left with Illinois (Oct. 26) and Memphis (Oct. 18) coming up. He’s liked Michigan State from Day One.”

Alexander’s AAU coach, Mike Irvin, told the Chicago Tribune all five schools have a “legitimate” shot at signing Alexander.

“There is something he likes about all five,” Irvin told the Trib. “He doesn’t want to make a quick decision. This is his career.”

Alexander definitely is planning on just one year in college.

“He’s already physically ready (for NBA),” Irvin told the Trib. “If they still had the rule that you could go straight out of high school, he’d put his name in and probably be a top five pick.”

Package deal remains: No. 1-ranked Jahlil Okafor, a 6-10 senior from Chicago Whitney Young, reiterated to Rivals.com on Sunday that he’s going to go to the same school as Tyus Jones, a 6-1 senior point guard from Apple Valley (Minn.) High. The two, who are considering KU, Kentucky, Duke and Baylor, will visit KU on Oct. 18 and Duke on Oct. 25.

“Hopefully our last two visits will make our decision a little clearer,” Okafor told Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi. “Hopefully by November we can have our mind made up and we can announce.

“He’s like my brother,” Okafor added of Jones. “We’ve been saying it since freshman year. Everybody doubted us, said they’d break up eventually, won’t do what they say they’ll do. He’s still my brother; one of my best friends. It’s pretty definitive we’re going to the same school.”

Okafor said on visits, “I like to see how players interact with the coaches, visit with them away from their coaches. (He asks players), ‘Do coaches keep the promises they made? Do they change when you got there?’ See if they (players) like each other. I want to have good chemistry when I go to college. I want to win national championship. I know that starts with chemistry.”

Elijah leaves Poland: Former KU guard Elijah Johnson is no longer on the roster of Anwil Wloclawek, a professional team based in Wloclawek, Poland, the team reported on its website.

The website indicated Johnson, “had problems of acclimation and accepting a role on the team preferring to separate himself from the party (organization).”

Collins at practice: Former KU guard Sherron Collins, who attended Friday’s Late Night in the Phog, tweeted Monday that he worked out Monday with the Jayhawks.

“Practice with Kansas men’s basketball team today. They are really good,” Collins tweeted.

"He said KU coach Bill Self explained that, if he chose KU, he’d be ticketed to take over for one-and-done sensation Andrew Wiggins on the wing next season."

I'm hoping that Oubre isn't under a mistaken impression that the wing position is his if he chooses KU. Everything we know about how Coach Self operates would preclude any kind of guarantee of a starting position. A possible miscommunication, perhaps?

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but I've never heard anyone else say that Sherron would be an excellent coach, and that thought never crossed my mind. Curious to know what makes you think that? Just asking, not poking at you.

Interesting question. I don't see anyway Self would not accept a commit from all three (Oubre, Okafor, Jones). These "scholarship number crunch" issues tend to work themselves out with transfers, early defections, etc. I would be very surprised if we only had two available scholarships to award after the season. Someone (besides Wiggins) likely leaves early or we have a transfer. FWIW.

He may only plan on signing 3, but he needs to prepare for the 2014 class being up to 6 deep. Black is gone for sure, Wiggins is 99.99% gone, Selden is quickly becoming a serious OAD candidate, Embiid is going to be a high lottery pick whenever he leaves (possibly after this year), and if Oubre commits to KU like a lot believe, there's a legitimate chance of a transfer. Self may hope he has just a 3 man 2014 class, but the reality is Self needs to prepare for up to a 6 man class so he doesn't get caught with his pants down like he did with the 2011 class when he thought Selby and the Morris twins would return and didn't and Bill had nothing waiting in the wings that year.

Okafor and Jones are not coming to KU because Bill Self won't bench senior Tharpe for ANY freshman. If KU signes a PG in this class (not a top priority this year), it will be a 4 star kid who needs a year or two before Bill Self hands him the keys.

OK, allow me a different perspective. Tyus Jones isn't worried about Naadir Tharpe. And Bill Self would play Jones in front of Tharpe in a heartbeat. In fact, don't be surprised when Mason starts playing more than Tharpe this season.

That said I don't think they're coming to KU either, but not for the reason you stated. Jones has wanted Duke forever.

One statement for you, then one question for you. Forst the statement, the ONLY way Frank Mason plays more minutes than Naadir Tharpe at ANY point this season is if Naadir Tharpe gets injured. PG is the one position in basketball where experience trumps talent.

Now for my question, what PG in this class has Bill Self gone very hard after? I don't mean which PG's have offers because a school can offer someone without recruiting them very hard. The answer is none because Bill Self has not made the PG position a priority in this class because he will have a senior PG going into his second year of starting and third year of playing significant minutes. If PG was a priority for the 2014 class, there wouldn't be any question marks over whether Lyle even has an offer from KU.

One other thing I would like to add. HEM posted an article below that indicates that Jones canceled his UK visit because UK already has already signed a PG in this class that is rated lower than himself. That would seem to indicate that Jones doesn't want to have to earn the starting spot wherever and just wants it handed to him.

I think you're reading too much into it if you believe he canceled his visit because he's worried about playing time. I believe Okafor and Jones know they are going to either Duke or Kansas with Duke being the leader.

EJ's difficulties in Poland remind that Tyrel and Brady came home quickly and Sherron has seemed not to stick over there. I am wondering if a trend is emerging? Or has Europe always been a tougher option than it seemed.

Do you think the reputed deep depression in Europe is having a bad effect on Europe as an option for American basketball players?

Culture Shock.....it's not for everyone. These young men find a lot out about themselves when actually living in another country. It's easy to get homesick. How many young service members wanted to go back home after the first hour of Basic Training? It's either adapt or go home. Hope this makes sense? It is still early in the morning.

Especially when a good chunk of the people there are not pleased that you are there. There seems to be a general dislike of american players coming over to play in Europe by teammates and opponents alike.

Brady went to Crete and I think came back because he wasn't going to get paid.

With all the new laws on financial transactions and taxes, it is an incredible pain to be an expatriate, depression or not. If you are a tax resident abroad, you have to report all your foreign accounts to the US (twice) and you have to report all your US accounts in the foreign country. That's before filling out two returns and paying taxes twice. That's after paying tax experts in both countries to help you fill out all the forms.

The number of expats renouncing their american citizenship has doubled year over year.

Russ Rob and Miles stuck pretty good out there...I don't know why EJ cant. You guys, I met Tyrel at the University of Kansas Hospital a few weeks ago while I was walking out from my shift. I saw him coming in and stopped to chat with him. He is in the middle of his Physical Therapy school and though I didn't ask him, Im fairly certain that he wanted to get into school. He said he played over seas for a year and that he enjoyed it. Also that once his foot healed, he was much better on the court. I just think he was ready to finish his degree. He is leaning towards the sports physical therapy, like for athletes like himself.

If Jones wants to play pg immediately after stepping on campus, he'll obviously go where there is the biggest option for a pg within his first 1-2 years of being on the squad. This piece makes it clear that he doesn't want to compete for pt. Therefore, depending on dook's pg situation, KU might be a strong #2 choice to dook. He's not going to beat out Tharpe as a senior. However, I'm looking at Mason and thinking my chances are huge to get pt behind a senior. Unless of course, Jones doesn't think he can beat out Mason?

It's going to be tough for Andrew if Oubre commits. Self likes quickness and athleticism and, while Andrew is a great shooter, he's not especially quick or athletic. It remains to be seen if he can guard at a level Self can be happy with. For his sake I hope he's not going to be one of those guys who everyone thinks, "Next year is going to be his year" only to have that year never arrive.

Truth is, he was our worst 3-pt shooter among any players with at least one attempt. He shot less than 28% from three.

If someone said "I believe he will develop into a great shooter," at least that involves some subjective belief to make it an unassailable statement. AWIII is not yet anything close to a great shooter.

Disagree. We all have opinions. AW3 is a good shooter. He's experienced what many freshman experience at D1 from high school. He also played in BMac's shadow. This year, he will play in Wig's shadow. Those are two big talented shadows. This is truly his year to prove his talent belongs on the team. The only problem with AW3 transferring is that he knows the Self system.

It all comes down to players being super patient. They may have to be more than patient. It's important that AW3 openly discuss his future at KU with Self. Self has given no indication that AW3 is struggling. In fact, AW3 seems to have solidified a spot on the team as a sophomore. I think our observations of Oubre are a bit premature in terms of taking over. Oubre will have an adjustment period. Just because these guys are highly ranked and talented, we forget they have to adjust to D1 play and D1 academic life too. There is a huge transition. However, as some OADs have demonstrated, forget academics, focus on pt, then go to the league. Who needs grades unless you're staying 3-4 years.

Let's stop all this gloom and doom for AW3 and Greene. They have a legitimate chance to play. We all know that Self will award pt to the player that consistently meets his expectations on both ends. We all know he is a D first coach.

The numerous articles, when aw3 was a newly signed recruit, laid out his shooting routine. 1000 jump shots. Aw3 claims to make most of said shots. Out of Virginia his reputation was that of a good shooter. By all accounts Frankamp is a better shooter, but may have a hard time getting his shot off due to size. AW3 has the size, but looked sluggish and lost on the court last season.

While commenting during the Late Night scrimmage, Gurley said he had seen AWIII's results on the shooting machine where he made 500 out of 575 three's. That's 86%. If he can pull half of that off in-game, 43% is a very nice percentage. But it may not translate. He hit 2 or 3 at Late Night. There are players who can hit all day in practice but can't pull it off in games. Everyone said Jeremy Case was one of the best 3 shooters in the world in practice but outside of his senior night display against Texas Tech, I believe, he never was able to do it in games...

Simple answer MarineHawk, you can see it in his stroke. It is tough to come off the bench dead cold and shoot a high percentage, when only getting a couple of minutes at a time. He has the stroke, no question in my mind. However, even as a shooting specialist he now has strong competition from Greene and Frankamp for that role. He's going to need to do more if he wants to play significant minutes. Self seems pretty high on him in recent comments, so hopefully he's seeing significant strides.

"It is tough to come off the bench dead cold and shoot a high percentage, when only getting a couple of minutes at a time."

Well, I already looked at that a while back. I don’t agree that “scrub minutes” are debilitating for jump shooters. But, just to check for sure, I went back to the five years before this one and looked at all of the nine instances where KU guards played in the 4.0-7.0 MPG range during those five years. The shooting for those guards from highest-to-lowest was 52%; 46%; 46%; 44%; 38%; 38%; 37%; 29%; and 27%. So, most of them could shoot pretty well in trash time.

The only two guys who shot below 30% could not later shoot above 34% in any one year in their careers (though Tharpe is still playing and except EJ, who actually did shoot 40% in 13.7 MPG in 2010-11, but then regressed to form, shooting 33% and 34% in his final two years.).

Yes,
As others have said (HEM first, I believe) how would this make White and Greene feel? There is potentially room for a 3 man rotation at the 2/3 position. What we don't know is how Self sells this type of situation to all involved. Obviously, this is one of Self's many skills. I think Self will sign at least 3. Which means (assuming Oubre commits) we have room for Okafor / Jones (unlikely) or Alexander / Lyle (assuming we have offered and really want Lyle) or Turner and one other.
We know that Self has a plan.....we just don't know for sure what it is.

On the Lyle thing, I can't figure out where he fits. Hasn't visited. No new info anywhere. When he decommitted from Louisville, he said playing time was a big consideration. Not sure that he finds that here. So maybe Alexander isn't such a high percentage possibility as it has appeared, assuming they're really a two for one.

First, transfer decisions could be made at semester, prior to Selden deciding. It makes a transfer consideration very difficult. If Selden stays, it's a complete logjam. Even if a player redshirts this season, and then transfers, he still has sit out two full semesters (so the full 2014-15 season). So pressure might mount whoever feels like he's the third in the Frankamp/Greene/White pecking order.

Second, White seems to be the guy many presume would transfer. jox's rationale makes sense, as have others that have posted previously. But if I'm White, couldn't I have seen this coming? From a timing perspective, if I was going to transfer, it would make sense to have done it prior to this season. Oubre was clearly on the radar, Wiggins was in.

Third, if Oubre is in, and Selden leaves -- Tharpe, Greene, White, Frankamp, Mason, Oubre. We are in the exact spot we are this season, minus Selden (Oubre for Wiggins). So there are 5 perimeter seats at most when the music stops, likely 4+, for 6 guys. Assume Tharpe has the point, and Mason the "+" minutes as his back up (or vice versa if the pro-Mason crowd is correct). It's Frankamp, Greene, White for the final two spots. Better odds than this season.

Fourth, Mason seems safe with his point guard skills (and seems to be an absolute necessity).

Fifth, whoever draws the short straw for 2014-15 is in a tough, tough spot. Self will continue to recruit the next Kelly Oubre, and the short straw guy is behind two other perimeter guys is left out of the minutes race.

Sixth, we still have the prospect of Self bringing in another top ranked perimeter player this season. If it's a point guard, Mason suddenly is in the discussion. Though if Self brought in Jones, that would impact both Tharpe and Mason. I don't see that happening.

Unlike last season where trimming a perimeter guy between Traylor, Lucas, and Peters seemed like healthy roster building to me, this doesn't have that feel.

Roster pressure on top 50 guys doesn't seem to be a good thing (unless Self determines a guy just isn't who he thought he'd be).

His ranking indicates he might be, but no one has said Oubre is a presumed OAD. If he's not, that's good. I like a two year guy much more than the OAD. But it only increases the roster pressure I have noted above if Oubre is a two year (or more) guy.

Great points all HEM. I just don't think AW3 is the flight risk that so many believe him to be this year. I think he's above his ego. He seems to have a really great head on his shoulders that communicates with his dad and Self on a regular basis. I'm impressed with his intellect and maturity. There is no indication that Self is looking to transfer him. He's mentioned possibly 1-2 guys, but AW3 has been huge for Self this off season going into Late Night.

BTW- I don't see anyone beating Tharpe out this year or next. He looked really good at Late Night. I also agree that IF Okafor/Jones commits, possible, but Mason is too focused and aggressive to accept that commitment. If he's competitive, he should compete, as the experienced sophomore. We forget that competition is healthy for a team. It keeps a player hungry.

HEM,
That's where I was going. Green, White, Oubre, Frankamp. Probably one left out of the rotation. Not unusual. Competition is good. Self has said he doesn't worry about playing time.......that will work it's way through. Or something to that effect.

The burning question is if Selden is one and done, can Greene or White actually play significant minutes at the 2? Can either actually defend a lightening quick wing with great handles? Ball handling and lateral speed does not seem to be AWIII's forte. We need to see Greene in action, but hopefully he has the chops.

BigMan- I need someone to convince me of Jones' services. I just don't see that he'd do much. I do believe that Okafor would be the biggest asset for any team. I just see Jones being recruited in the jock strap of Okafor. I think he's good and maybe even worth his rank, but just don't see where he fits under our current pg situation. I see Tharpe as being way better than Jones. I think Mason will work his azz off to get pt. Jones doesn't appear to be the competitive type. He wants to walk in and automatically be the pg and play with his "bro" Okafor. I just don't see it happening at KU. I'd LOVE to get Okafor. But, if their playing bond is as strong as they've been saying, don't see them coming to KU because of Jones' pg influence.

I understand your point about Mangino a bit. If you go around judging people by the way they look that's your business, but it's not right. You have no idea who she is. You have no idea what's happened to her. Do you call our players who come from the inner city and are all tatted up hood rats? Why or why not?

I'm just trying to get people to stop using language like that. I work in the inner city and a lot of people whom you, or others might call hood rats I love and respect because I've got to know them. I know their lives and how they didn't grow up with their fathers, or how their grandma's are raising them and 4 of their cousins. It's really tough to be raised in such a setting like that.

I came to this snap judgement based on a small sample size that allowed me to deduce that she was deserving of a derogatory term to describe her. She had crazy hair, extremely bright tight in all the wrong places clothes that were half falling off, a thick Missourri inner city accent, 3" fingernails, and was screaming at the top of her lungs while wagging her finger in his face and doing the chicken head thing. There's more, but I think you get it.

If you don't judge people quickly based on the visual and audio clues given you will inevitably end up on the wrong end of the stick.

Allegedly. Despite an investigation involving the campus police and the KBI (looking for DNA), absolutely nothing ever came from the allegation. As I recall, it was a pretty weird allegation in the 1st place...

If Oubre is ready to make his decision before his scheduled visit to Kentucky, this is very good news. How cool would it be to steal another recruit out from under Calamari's nose? Since I currently live in Louisville, I could brag about it to my UK friends just as I did when KU landed Wiggins.

Jayhawk- After reading this piece, it would be hard for uk to do much better. In fact, as I read Oubre's comments, I really don't see how uk could top his experience at KU. Now anything uk does will appear, well, useless. In fact, unless Calipari and his merry band of men (boosters) can pull a rabbit out of their hat, Little Blue Madness may not even get him to Lexington at this point. Why? If you know where you want to go, he appears ready to make a decision. Let Calipari save his money.

Seriously, I think uk is focusing on Stanley Johnson and he seems to be leaning uk according to most uk insiders.

I know I should be excited about Oubre leaning towards Kansas, but I'm just not. I have this sinking feeling.
I believe in loyalty and rewarding effort and hardwork. I love seeing teams develop over a period of years, suffering heartbreaks and coming together for greatness eventually.
If it's filling an obvious need with a super talent, then it's fine. We did that this year and then some.
But for next year, we have AWIII and Greene already for the 3 spot and they are not going anywhere for a while.
I kind of miss Roy's one year on, one year off recruiting this year.

I know I know, that's how it is these days, and you have to do this to keep up with the Jones's...but I still don't like it.

Bill Self only says what he has carefully calculated for the specific effect he hopes to attain. It is unlike Bill Self to openly tell a recruit that if he comes to KU, he is slated to take over for a specific departing player. Bill Self believes in making freshmen earn everything they get. Have you ever heard a recruit say that Bill Self told him it was "pretty much all there for me"?

Bill Self knows he has a shot at some really special players in this recruiting class....more players than he has available scholarships. Therein lies the challenge.

Self's intentionally loose lips in his discussion with Oubre may be a warning shot to some players on the roster that their scholarships are not guaranteed next year. His words may be intended to plant the seeds of discontent for some players who are outside the regular rotation in hopes that they will proactively seek a transfer.

You're right KU. I really think Oubre is interpreting Self's words as pt for him. However, your post is exactly right. Self is all about defense...consistency...defense...defense...Did I say defense? Oh yeah, defense...Oubre will have to earn his pt. This may be more about Oubre making a decision and justifying it in the end, rather than about Self saying much of anything. Oubre has always liked KU. uk has made a small dent, but not in time.

This is what I've seen also: If Stanley Johnson is UK-bound, Oubre is really really likely to come here, since they are pretty much the two highest rated wings still out there. They should get together and announce at the same time for KU-UK, maybe do a joint presser on ESPN3 where they each take a hat, pretend to put in on, and then switch them at the last minute! Start some good natured hype...

It's pretty clear anyways. As of last night Oubre began following the Gonzalez twins, Selden, KUBball, etc on twitter. Oubre today, Cliff Alexander on November 20th. Mark your calendars. Also can KU just keep the Gonzalez girls forever?

Is Justin Wesley a scholarship player?? I know that Manning, Self, Roberts are not. What about Garret I do not think he is either. We will for sure be losing Wesley, Wiggins, possibly Selden, possibly Embiid. Do not forget we have Mickelson red-shirting this year. With how stacked the team is I definitely see someone going down the Releford route and redshirting because there is just TOO much talent. AW3 could do that and look how Releford turned out.

All are likely overthinking the foreground. In the foreground it is sign the best pieces the background permits, red shirt whoever wants to, and run the rest. Try to find them slots in the Okie Baller Mafia, but run them. This how it is. You can't say who will be run till you know who he signs. He will run anyone. If he found 13 guys better than Wiggins, he would run Wiggins.

The background is what biases outcomes. How many OADs is Self going to be allowed by the SHOECO duopoly? Recently they have stacked UNC, UCLA, UK, Duke, Baylor and Zona. Cal and Self seem most at the teat now. Self will take as many as they permit him. For awhile they permitted him nothing but sloppy seconds from imploding programs. Now he is at the table. Cal may have been being punished with Wiggins. Cal fell into the NIT with a stacked deck. The SHOECO duopoly, and the media-gaming complex lost big on that bet. They probably hedged their bets with Self this time. Cal was given another stacked deck, but not the next Lebron to go with it. Discipline. Cal has to get her done this year, or they move onto the next best option to stack. Self has won with less, so he is getting his shot. If he fails, they move to the next option. I don't believe for a second in the invisible hand of a market this tightly constrained. I believe the SHOECO duopoly has to be making clear which menu of teams is acceptable to the top 10 players. Different players pick differently from the menu, but I believe the menu is set. This is essentially like standing in line at the Fed bailout window. There is a pecking order of who gets bail outs. Friends come first. Then persons you want to make friends with. The trouble makers get cut off. Etc.

HC's are working to get to the head of the stacking line. This ain't conspiracy. This is real kick politik in my opinion.

Will Self let someone redshirt, then sit him for the rest of his career?

So far, Self has marketed redshirts as helping the player get his degree and trading a sitting year for a playing year (no guarantee, but the pitch is implicit). Also redshirting is insurance against getting run, because going elsewhere after redshirting means losing a year of eligibility.

Letting a guy redshirt, then running him would not be "doing it the right way".

Letting a guy redshirt, then sitting him forever would not be "doing it the right way".

So Im trying to understand your jive here Jaybate. Are you saying that the mega shoe CO.s actually have an influence on where the top talents play? And, why is UCLA stacked? They suck, and have sucked since 08 final four. I agree that Cal and Self are the two big dogs right now but I don't remember when Self had to settle with transfers from imploding programs. Unless you mean shoes. I think its pretty darn funny that Cal fell on his ass last year with top talent. Its highly unlikely that it would ever happen to Self. But, nothing is impossible. Just highly unlikely. Self, to me, seems like he would be given more slack from said shoeco's If he failed expectations this year, I don't see adidas dropping the KU brand, take their business else where. But, how do the ShoeCo's bail out big programs like KU, UK, DUKE, UNC? I understand a bit about money, supply and demand from my college Econ class years ago but KU needing a bail out? I don't comprehend that.
Educate me Jaybate. I want to understand more.

b) they use AAU teams to aggregate high school talent as Nike talent, or Adidas talent;

c) their brand aggregated AAU teams feed D1;

d) they have two objectives:

1) spread their lesser branded talent around as many markets as they can to promote their ShoeCo brand in those markets;

2) place potential super talents with schools and coaches that can give their Q ratings and recognizability ratings (call it R ratings for shore) the biggest bounce possible in one season of D1 exposure;

e) regularly stack certain programs with talent to keep the program high profile each year, so all that has to be hyped is the super talent and not the place he plays at;

f) Nike, the ordinate member of the duopoly keeps a larger number of programs it stacks each year, because it has a much bigger feeder system and more athletes to promote;

g) Adidas, the subordinate member of the duopoly keeps a smaller number of programs that it stacks with talent each year, because it has a smaller AAU feeder system and fewer top athletes to promote;

h) each year, when a team is stacked with high end talent, it has to perform well in order to promote that high end talent (i.e., to maximize the bounce on Q and R ratings of the players involved);

i) when the team meets or exceeds expectations then it gets stacked again;

j) when the team falls sharply below expectations, the coach is given a year or two to get it going again by continuing to stack his team, albeit not with the most favorable stack;

k) Howland at UCLA was stacked repeatedly when he first got their and got to the Final Four three straight times, so when he began to falter, they kept stacking him for a couple years, but finally they said he could not get it done and so they stacked him up just enough that a high quality replacement would be ready step aboard, and then they began stacking the replacement;

l) they are much more determined to stack a place like UCLA, because it is in a huge media market and if they can get the right coach in place, then a place like UCLA offers a much bigger bounce on the Q and R ratings that does a place like KU;

m) UCLA is like Boardwalk and Park Place in Monopoly; you want to stack it because when you hit it right it offers the biggest pay off;

I'm sure jbate is going to tell me that the AAU players listed here played against their will for Nike-sponsored AAU programs but they were secretly endorsed or somehow the pawns of ADIDAS? And it was only upon their "delivery" to the appropriately-deserving program that the players' true SHOECO allegiance was revealed?

n) the stacking system is imprecise because there are a lot of uncontrollable variables like university politics, coaching abiliities, injuries, etc.;

o) the stacking system is trying to create high profile programs that the public knows will have the great players, so that there is no need to for the public to have to go searching for them;

p) when the stacking system stacks the program, and the program just cannot turn the corner, then another school is substituted and the stacking continues at the new program;

q) there is much less tolerance for failure at programs outside the major media markets and outside the Eastern time zone (if they stack you, you've got to produce within a couple of years, or it is bye-bye).

The above is the essense of what I am talking about. It is really just about the same as the NBA. The NBA has a draft that spreads all the lesser talent evenly around the league. But the rules of the draft are usually broken, when a great player comes along. Long term, all truly great NBA players are massaged into the top media markets, because that is what is best for promoting the NBA. Now, the NBA cannot help it if certain franchises, like say, the NY Knicks, have such dysfunctional ownership that that ownership cannot be trusted to win with great talent. So: there are exceptions about certain high profile franchises not gettting a great player from time to time. But there are almost no exceptions about the greatest players always winding up in crucially important media markets for the L.

In D1 the last 10 years, the greatest talents wind up on talented, high profile teams and locations. You just don't see a Larry Bird playing at an Indiana State anymore.

If you're judging someone's defensive abilities based on a Late Night scrimmage, then nobody on KU is a good defender. Connor likely won't be ready this year anyway, but he doesn't have to be ready to contribute majorly this year anyway.

I find it really Concerning that a potential recruit is spilling these sorts of details about confidential conversations b/w him and Self. This and the haircut makes me wonder if this kid mighty be a bit risky... I'm trying not to cast too much judgement, but I always fear a DeMarcus Cousins type player coming in and totally disrupting our team chemistry w his me first attitude.

Who cares if knows he will play over Green and White, if he's the better athlete that's what we need, and if he thinks he can do it and expects the playing time, that's why he chose us in the first place, which is his right to explain to reporters why he chose a school. We all know if he's not good enough Self won't play him, regardless of what he thinks.

The hair comment... is this 1950?

And he mentioned team chemistry as to why he likes KU, so I think if anything he's looking forward to being part of Self's system.

His hair? For real? I'm nearing 40 and I think Oubre's hair is kickass, and it has nothing to do with a mans character. Its what is upstairs that counts and hopefully the kid's got a good one on his shoulders. C.S. will most definitely bring the best out of him.

Mickelson isn't going anywhere. His spot in KU's rotation in the future is not currently known because the make up of KU's roster is not currently known. If Embiid leaves and KU whiffs on bigs (I don't see both happening), then Mickelson could find himself starting next to Ellis. More likely is that Mickelson is the first or second big off the bench. He is a shot blocker and a pretty solid defender so that alone will give him a chance to earn good minutes whenever he's eligible.